Numb
by Kari Anna
Summary: If there's no pain, there's no pleasure. ClarkChloe?
1. Alone

Sorry for the delay on Tangled Webs, peeps. I'll try to get back to it asap. I just couldn't resist this story idea. It called to me! Damn Tom Welling's irresistable grin for getting me hooked on Smallville!

WARNING: Dark, mentions of suicidal thoughts, proceed with caution, and BTW I did NOT mean to make this so dark.

DISCLAIMER: Why, whyyyy? Oh the cruelty of this world! .... Watching Smallville season 2 on DVD might make up for it... Too bad I don't own that either. Cliffhangers suck when you're not the one writing them lol.

**Numb**

All that alerted Clark to the tears in his eyes was the feeling that something had welled up behind his eyelids. He didn't even feel the salt-sting that had accompanied tears when he was younger. He slammed his fist into the granite. He was slumped on top a granite outcropping half a mile out of town.

_I can't feel anything. Not a damned thing. WHY? WHY ME? This isn't fair!_ Clark hadn't felt any pain when his fist hit the rock, though he'd hit it so hard it shattered a 6-inch deep crater. He had known he wouldn't feel it, but figured it was fate's way of mocking him. If he could feel physical pain maybe it would take his mind off the pain in his heart. Events from only a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind.

**Flashback**

"Chloe, thanks for the gift. I love it," Clark said, smiling down at his tenacious girlfriend. He was referring to the beautiful silver necklace with a dolphin pendant on it, which she'd given him a few moments before. She had said he was like a dolphin; friendly and heroic, and gentle as could be.

She grinned. "You're welcome, and I'm glad you like it, but that's not your main gift."

Clark's brow furrowed in a look of innocent confusion. "Then what-" Chloe cut him off with a soft kiss, and murmured, "I love you, Clark Kent."

For a moment, he was too delighted with her long-waited confession to notice that he hadn't felt anything more than the weight of her lips on his when she kissed him. "Chloe, I-" again the blonde cut him off with a smiling, "Happy seventeenth birthday, Clark." Then she took off, and the stunned feeling wore away to leave him with harsh realization.

Not only did he no longer feel heat or cold or pain at all, but he could no longer feel physical pleasure either. He had felt the weight of Chloe's lips, and happiness at her confession to be sure, but nothing more. It had been that way for weeks but Clark had found ways to avoid thinking about it. Admitting it now gave it the finality he had been trying to escape.

**End Flashback**

Clark stared over the edge of the rock outcropping. It was a long way down. Hundreds of feet. He knew. Would the fall be enough to kill him? He hoped so. He was numb in all the ways that counted.

Clark Kent was truly alone.


	2. Desperate

Wow, I really meant for this story to be a one-shot, but all my wonderful reviewers asked for more. So here it is. Before I continue, I really need to ask: Does anyone want to be my beta-reader for this fic? I may have the spellings and grammar down most of the time but that doesn't make me a good writer. I NEED YOUR HELP! Ok, I'm done ranting now.

DISCLAIMER: Oh, this part always makes me cry.

Chapter Two: Desperate

Clark opened his now tear-filled eyes, which had been clenched tightly shut mere moments ago due to his fear of heights. His chest, legs, arms and face stung a bit wherever they had made contact with the grass beneath him. Nothing more. Just mildly stinging, like when you high-five someone a little too hard. Clark sat up, taking note of his now trashed clothes. Despite its irrelevance, he thought, _Mom's going to kill me. This shirt was brand-new._ Then he stared at the wall of rock that towered in front of him. _It's not fair. Anyone else would have been able to escape that way. But, I'm always the odd man out. Or alien. Whatever._ Sighing in resignation at what he had to do, he stood up and dusted himself off before trudging home at a human pace.

**

* * *

**

Next Morning

Oh God. I REALLY hope they don't ask why I was gone so late last night, Clark thought with sudden dread as he made his way downstairs. It smelled like coffee a good ten feet from the kitchen door, so he knew the coast was clear. Mom had had her vital first two cups of coffee. The average passerby wouldn't suspect it, but Martha Kent was a coffee fiend, and if anyone ran into her before her first two cups of morning java, they lived to regret it. It was a source of both constant amusement and constant danger to Jonathan and Clark.

The teenager put on a sleepy look he had perfected long ago and crept into the kitchen. So far so good. Now for the hard part. Getting some cereal and sitting down without his parents noticing anything off about him. Clark had managed to get a bowl and pour cereal into it. He was about to add milk when his father cut his intense concentration on the cereal. "Alright Clark, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just still a little sleepy, that's all," he replied, rubbing at one eye for effect.

"Well I imagine you would be. After all, your mother and I were up until nearly three a.m. waiting for you to come home, and still neither of us was up when you got back. Care to explain?"

Explain that I went to an outcropping to try to kill myself? No thanks. I'll pass, Clark thought sardonically. "I just needed to think. My birthday got me thinking about my life and what I want to do with it."

Jonathan nodded slowly, as if processing this information. By the time he looked back up, Clark was sitting at the table, about to eat. "Uh-huh. And where did you do this thinking?"

His dad thought he had him pegged. Not nearly. Constantly having to lie to his friends, cops, reporters and other people had made Clark a pretty good liar. "Oh, I wandered around. Mostly the outskirts of town."

"Really? Because Lex was up at Crater Lake and said he saw you there. Said you were at the bottom of that rock outcropping," Jonathan replied, a glint of suspicion in his blue eyes.

"That's where I wound up, that's all. Don't worry, it's not like I jumped or anything," Clark snapped, glaring at his cereal bowl.

"Alright. I was just worried."

_I am now too. Did Lex see me jump off? What _did_ he see? I have to find out,_ Clark decided._ I'll pay him a visit at his mansion today and find out what he knows._

* * *

So people: good, bad, undecided? Lemme know. It's the little purple button. Review, plz!


	3. Answers

Pairings are up to you guys, so let me know who you want together. I will not, however, under ANY circumstances be pairing Clark with Lana. Other than that, I'll let you decide who's with whom. Clark and Chloe aren't set in stone, so pick their soul mates, Lex's, and Lana's. :) Remove from oven and enjoy... Sorry... too much homeschool style home ec.

DISCLAIMER :gasp: Mommy, is that a four-letter word?

Chapter Three: Answers

Clark took several deep breaths in a vain effort to steady his nerves. _If Lex saw..._ Leaving that thought unfinished, he knocked on the door to Lex's study, where he could usually be found.

"Come in," came the reply. One more deep breath and Clark took the plunge.

Lex smiled up at him, that cheerful smile that seemed to be reserved for him. "Ah, Clark, just the man I wanted to see. Take a seat, buddy."

The younger boy did as was requested of him, and Lex signaled the lone servant in the room to leave. The elderly maid left, closing the door behind her.

"I wanted to talk to you about something, and I assume you have something of importance to talk to me about too." Lex's tone and eyes said loud and clear that he could see right through him. It remindedClark all too well of the disadvantages****and weakness he had felt when his powers had been passed to Eric for a few days. At the same time, Lex's eyes didn't hold the malice, the predatory gleam, or the desperation Eric's had. All Clark saw in the man's eyes was concern.

Lex waited, and after a few minutes had passed he took Clark's uncharacteristic silence as his cue to continue. He took a deep breath, then looked his young friend right in his innocent blue eyes and said, "I saw you jump off the cliff at Crater Lake last night."

Silence.

"Although I must admit I am rather intigued that you survived-- seemingly without a scratch-- that isn't my concern. My curiosity is piqued, but whatever the cause of your survival is, you've kept it a secret up until now, and I sincerely doubt you'll tell me now. But I do ask that you tell me why you jumped in the first place."

Now Clark averted his gaze to the wine**_-_**colored carpet, as if he might find the answer there. Nearly ten silent minutes passed.

Lex spent those ten minutes agonizing as his head spun with morbid thoughts. _My one true friend tried to commit suicide last night. Why?_ Suddenly he felt sick, as a few theories came to him. _Are his parents abusing him? No, Martha wouldn't; she's the gentle type. Jonathan is more violent, yes, but I've only seen that side of him when he thinks he's protecting his family. Could it be because something happened to him? Whatever that could possibly be, he'd have to have been keeping it a secret. I know Clark, though. He always has to be a hero. There have been scads of opportunities for something horrible to happen to him._

Feeling a bit green around the gills due to his dark theories, Lex turned his thoughts to another of the mysteries surrounding Clark Kent. _How did he survive jumping off that cliff? No human being could possibly do that. Then again, there's also no way any human being could be hit by a speeding Porshe, slammed into a gaurd rail, and live to tell the tale either. Last time I tried to research the incident though, I almost lost Clark's friendship. I won't make that mistake again... But I do need to find out why Clark went suicidal. I can't lose him._

Finally the boy in question spoke, rousing Lex out of the macabre depths of his mind. "I jumped for the same reason I lived through the jump, and through being hit by your car."

Lex stared at Clark. _Damn._ _Didn't I just promise myself I wouldn't ask him about how he survived those two incidents?_

As it turned out though, Lex didn't have to ask. Clark voluntarily dished up the gruesome answers, although he was slow and hesitant about it.

"Y-You know that disk you found in the cornfield?" Lex wasn't about to interrupt this story with a spoken reply, so he just nodded. "Well, it's a key."

Lex's mind whirled back to the professor, _That guy I hired--what was his name?-- who was obsessed with the meteor rocks. He claimed it was a key too. But to what?_

"It's the key to a spaceship in our storm cellar." Seeing his friend's dubious look, Clark said with a grim, unsmiling face, "I'm dead serious here, Lex." A swirl of emotions danced in the teen's eyes, so tightly woven together that Lex could barely make them out. There they were though, in this rare display of emotions Clark usually hid from the world. Anger, sadness, and emotional pain.

Then Clark hit him with the big revelation he'd been building up to. "When my parents adopted me-- they found me in the same cornfield you found that disk in, during the meteor shower. I'm an alien, Lex." He gave Lex a few minutes to let that sink in before he continued.

"Have you ever wondered how those meteor-affected people Chloe's always writing about in _The Torch_ go down? Why they disappear, or give up, or lose their powers?" Lex nodded, silently guessing at what Clark would say next, but letting the boy speak his piece. "_I_ do that, Lex. Being an alien comes with certain gifts."

Clark grabbed the chair his friend was sitting in, stacked it on top of Lex's desk, and proceeded to lift the desk effortlessly with one hand. He set it back down, then ran across the room at superspeed. After he came to a stop in front of the far wall, he used his heat vision to light the three candles in the candelabra.

"Those gifts are superstrength, superspeed, superhearing, x-ray vision, and heat vision. So far, anyway. The abilities started out with just superspeed and superstrength. My other abilities appeared and developed as I got older. I also don't feel heat, cold, or pain. But all these gifts come with a curse that more than makes up for all that."

Tears welled up in Clark's eyes. "I can't- I don't-" he took a deep breath and finally got it out. "I can't feel _anything._ Chloe kissed me the other day, and you know how usually people feel more than just the pressure of someone's lips on theirs? That's _all_ I felt."

"I thought you were keeping something like this from me. Why--" he noticed the look on the teen's face and put his rant on hold. _Just because I was raised by an unfeeling, uncaring SOB doesn't mean Clark has to suffer from it. Besides, I can always ask him later._

Lex climbed down from his chair, off his desk, and walked over to Clark. He hugged the now crying boy. Lex looked up at the ceiling, as if toward God, and hoped, _There has to be something I can do to help... _


	4. Bug

I've finally seen seasons two and three of Smallville, and now I'm going to take advantage of Lionel being in jail, his power, and his evilness. -grinning evilly- MWAHAHAHA! BTW, please don't kill me for lack of Clark in this chapter. Or for recent lack of updates. Or for the pairings. You can still vote for who Lana and Chloe will wind up with, and I'm open to pairing up the hated Lionel Luthor if someone comes up with a character.

DISCLAIMER: Yuck. This is worse than cooked spinach. :p

**Chapter Four: Bug**

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM-WHAM!

The other inmates in the gym stayed well away from the man who was at the punching bag, with the exception of the few burly gang-bangers who were indebted to the man and willingly played the part of unpaid bodygaurds. The creak of the under-oiled hinges on the door at the front of the gym drew the man's attention away from his workout. A cold, predatory smile spread on the man's unshaven face. That smile and the dignified yet why-should-I-care way the man stood were the only things that made him recognizable as Lionel Luthor.

"Well, Loader, what brings you here?" Lionel asked smugly. But then, Lionel was always smug.

The man standing in the doorway of the prison's decrepit gym sneered, his distaste for the older Luthor plain to see. He was the crooked FBI agent who'd been 'working' for Lex, then been paid off by Lionel to keep the darkness of the older Luthor's past buried. In the end he had arrested Lionel, and now he was once again a pawn in the Luthors' twisted game.

Loader cast a wary glance around the gym. Lionel nodded to the oldest-looking of his three thugs, and the three quickly ushered everyone out of the gym before they themselves left.

"Well? I may be in prison, but I don't have all day, Loader," Lionel said, knowing his power irritated the FBI agent.

"You were right," Loader admitted grudgingly.

Lionel quirked an eyebrow. "I've been right about so much. Forgive me if I don't know what I'm right about this time."

Loader scowled, and the other suppressed the urge to smirk. _God I love getting on this man's nerves,_ Lionel thought cheerfully. He could always tell when Loader's temper was getting short.

After Loader got a lid on his temper, he said, "The bugs in your kid's study picked up more than the usual yesterday." Again Lionel quirked his eyebrow. Loader quickly spoke again, not wanting to hear the eccentric billionaire's voice any more than he had to. "That Kent kid was there. Here's what we recorded."

Loader fished a dictaphone out of a pocket on the inside of his coat. He pressed a button, and sounds emitted from the lone speaker built into the tiny machine.

_-Knock knock-_

_Lex: Come in. -Click- Ah, Clark, just the man I wanted to see. Take a seat, buddy. -Click- I wanted to talk to you about something, and I assume you have something of importance to talk to me about too._

_Lex: I saw you jump off the cliff at Crater Lake last night._

Lionel interrupted, "Don't waste my time with trivial problems imagined up by some teenager."

Loader replied irritably, "It gets better."

_Although I must admit I am rather intigued that you survived-- seemingly without a scratch-- that isn't my concern. My curiosity is piqued, but whatever the cause of your survival is, you've kept it a secret up until now, and I sincerely doubt you'll tell me now. But I do ask that you tell me why you jumped in the first place._

_Clark: I jumped for the same reason I lived through the jump, and through being hit by your car. Y-You know that disk you found in the cornfield? Well, it's a key. It's the key to a spaceship in our storm cellar. I'm dead serious here, Lex. When my parents adopted me -- they found me in the same cornfield you found that disk in, during the meteor shower. I'm an alien, Lex. Have you ever wondered how those meteor-affected people Chloe's always writing about in _The Torch _go down? Why they disappear, or give up, or lose their powers? _I_ do that, Lex. Being an alien comes with certain gifts. Those gifts are superstrength, superspeed, superhearing, x-ray vision, and heat vision. So far, anyway._

It was Loader's turn to feel smug this time, as Lionel seemed shocked.

"Now, I'd better get home, or my wife will be asking questions. I'll see you later, Mr. Luthor," Loader said with a satisfied smirk.

Lionel blinked as if he had been unaware of the other man's presence. Then, waving his hand dismissively, he replied, "Yes, yes, go. And let me know if young Mr. Kent says anything more."

Loader nodded, and made his exit.

_Well, Clark, now I know why you are so extraordinary. And soon, I'll put your talents to good use. I suppose first I should get myself out of prison, now that I have a good reason to,_ thought Lionel.

TBC...


	5. Fragile

Sorry it has taken so long to update. I had inspiration, but then decided that I needed to cut into the story with that last bit, about Lionel knowing what was going on, so I lost my train of thought and had to come up with a continuation of the Lex and Clark scene all over again. Plus I've had to write other stories because once I get an idea, it tends not to go away until I do a little work on it. 

DISCLAIMER: Suuure... and I have beachfront property in Alabama to sell you.

**Chapter Five: Fragile  
**  
Clark's tears had finally abated into nothing more than hiccups and the occasional sniffle. Unwinding his arms from around the boy, Lex stood up and got a bottle of his favorite water. He handed it to Clark, and waited until nearly half the bottle was gone, along with Clark's hiccups.

Quietly, Lex at last asked the question that had been weighing heavily on both his heart and his mind since the long-ago moment that he had realized what Clark's friendship meant to him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Blue eyes, blood-shot from crying, looked up into Lex's own break-of-dawn grey ones. "I don't know. At first, it was because you were a Luthor," Lex inwardly rejoiced at noticing that Clark no longer thought of him as a Luthor.

"And because Mom and Dad have told me ever since I can remember not to tell anyone what I am, or let them know what I can do. They said people would take me away to dissect me, and study me. Then I told Pete, and now he's had to move away because the FBI was putting too much heat on him to try to get him to tell them about me. I don't know, I guess I was  
worried that it was too much of a burden."

Clark wouldn't meet Lex's eyes. _He's afraid I'm going to reject him, for what he is, and for keeping it a secret_, Lex realized. "Look at me, Clark," he said quietly. When the teen hesitantly met Lex's gaze with his own, the older man continued. "I understand why you did it. But now that I know, I will do everything in my power to protect you." He sighed and ran a hand over his bald head. "As for not being able to feel," Clark cringed at that, "I'll do my best to see what can be done about  
that."

Clark simply nodded. He was staring at the carpet, once again trying to avoid Lex's eyes. When he did manage to catch the teen's gaze, the broken look in those gorgeous blue eyes cut him to the quick.

_Damn that Messiah complex of his_. _Always trying to keep his suffering to himself._ _He really needs to quit that. Last night is proof enough that it's hazardous to his health,_ Lex thought. They'd figure out a way to solve Clark's problems later, but for now Lex decided it'd be best to just find a good distraction for him.

Lex smirked. "You still up for learning Latin?"

Clark managed a small, wobbly smile and replied, "Definitely."

"I'll race you to my library."

With a grin, the boy threw Lex over his shoulder and supersped to their destintation.

* * *

It didn't take Lex long to realize how fragile Clark's heart really was. The slightest reminder of his inability to feel would bring a mask of false indifference onto his face, leaving only his eyes for Lex to read. Every time, he saw the look in his young friend's eyes that he would be more than happy to steal away forever. He never wanted to see Clark try to kill himself again. The memory alone was enough to make his stomach revolt. 

All that stood between Lex and a questionably long life of loneliness was this fragile seventeen-year-old boy. And he didn't know if he could take living without his one true friend.

_So, _Lex wondered,_who's really the fragile one here?_

* * *

Soooo. Whatcha think? 

_Crowd throws rotten veggies, pelting the author_

ACK! I know it's not my best work! I'll try harder next time, I promise!

_Crowd continues to throw veggies_

ACK! I'll write longer chapters! Anything! ANYthing!

_Crowd chases author as she runs off the stage screaming_


	6. Watch

:Grins sheepishly: Sorry for the long wait. I'll try to keep long waiting periods like that to a minimum, especially since the chapters in _Numb_ are shorter than what I usually write. Anyway, here's your Clex fix :)

DISCLAIMER: What are you gonna do if I say I own it? Take away the pennies and one dime that I have in my purse?

WARNINGS: I put them in the first chapter. I will not repeat them. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.

**Chapter Six: Watch**

Clark was in a much better mood when he returned home than he'd been in when he'd left. _Who knew having Lex know would be so... nice?_ he thought as he walked into the house. The smell of melted cheese and warm tomato sauce permeated the house. _Mom must've made lasagna again._

"Oh, good, you're finally back. Your father's been looking for you," Martha said from behind him, catching him by surprise. Clark turned to face her and she pointed to the field. "The tractor broke down again, and it's stuck in the middle of the field. He's been trying to fix it all day."

That brought a grin to Clark's face. His dad's idea of fixing the tractor was poking his head under the hood, giving it a brief glance and maybe an oil change, then kicking the tire and cursing at the top of his lungs. He shook his head and supersped out to Jonathan. Sure enough, when Clark got there his dad was still cursing at the top of his lungs, punctuating his words with an occasional kick to the nearest tire. It took all Clark's willpower not to laugh.

"I'll fix it, Dad," Clark said, putting a hand on his father's elbow to get the man's attention.

Jonathan grinned. "Oh, thanks Clark. When did you get back?"

"Just now," the boy replied as he gave the back of the offending machine a light tap. It hummed back to life instantly.

Jonathan gave his son an irritated look. "How come it'll do that for you, but not for me?"

Clark grinned. "It knows who loves it and who cusses up a blue streak."

His dad groaned. "I already get a lot of guff from your mother about that, and now you're taking her side too?"

"Yup."

"Alright, you, go see if your mother needs help while I put the tractor away." In a superspeeding blur, the teen was back in the house. Jonathan shook his head in amusement.

When dinner was on the table and everyone was seated Martha asked, "So, what did you do today, Clark? Your school called and said you didn't show up today."

Clark froze, his fork halfway to his mouth. "Oh, I... my heat vision was acting up again, so I went swimming instead."

Jonathan crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. "What is going on with you, son? You haven't been yourself, the past couple of days. And a word to the wise: don't lie to your mother and me. We can tell."

"Nothing," Clark sighed. "I've just been feeling a little off, but I think it might be just something Kryptonian adolescents go through." _Wow. That was a smooth lie. I'm really getting good at this._

"Well if you need our help with whatever this is, let us know honey," Martha said.

"Okay Mom."

The uncomfortable conversation finally over, Clark finished his dinner quickly and escaped to the safety of his room. He needed to think. Chloe was sure to question his absence in school, tomorrow. He'd have to have something to tell her, because there was no way he was telling her the whole story like he'd done with Lex. There were two differences between her and Lex that gave him reason to tell one but not the other. First, Lex didn't have a press pass or his own newspaper. Second, the journalist usually came before the friend, in Chloe's heart, so no matter how badly he wanted it kept secret it would wind up breaking news if he told her. Clark had thought of all that before.

Clark looked out his bedroom window at the stars that were beginning to come out and wondered not for the first time what Krypton had really been like. Sure it was gone now, but that didn't mean it was irrelevant. It had already forced him to be different from everyone he knew in so many ways. Yet he could pass for a normal human, in most circumstances, or at least pass as a meteor freak. So Krypton couldn't have been _too_ different.

His thoughts continued to wander, and it wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep.

Out on the road that passed the Kent farm, sat a small black car. Its lone passenger frowned at the lack of information gathered from the household that night. No matter. Sooner or later someone would spill the beans, and then it would simply be a matter of getting their hands on the young one before anyone else did. The big man would just have to be patient a little longer.

TBC...


	7. Break

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I posted a new chappie for this fic. I have writer's block-- _bad._ I'm not sure how good this chapter is, and I know the last several were crappy. My apologies.

DISCLAIMER:checking all my paperwork: Nope, I don't own anything but this weird plot and my muses. And they're rebellious little things.

**Chapter Seven: Break**

Evan, Lex's new security gaurd ran into the study, his eyes looking like they would bug out of his face if they went any wider. "Mr. Luthor, your father is here. He's been released. He says he was acquitted of the charges brought against him."

Lex didn't bother trying to keep the mask of calm that he usually did. He stood from his chair so fast it almost gave him whiplash, and his eyes hardened as if to further emulate the slate they resembled. "I'll deal with him."

"Oh good, Lex. You're finally starting to fight your own battles."

The younger Luthor scowled at the sound of his father's voice. "Gee Dad. Playing the hypocrite again?"

Lionel instantly caught the reference to his parents and Edge, and his expression darkened in response. He changed the subject. "It's not wise for a _Luthor_ to believe friends are a luxury he can afford, Lex."

_I wonder if he realizes he says the name Luthor like the rest of the public does-- like it's something dirty and nasty,_ Lex thought, pondering it for a moment before saying coolly, "Lex by any other name..."

His father smirked; throughout the business world it was known that when Lionel did that it was as good as a verbal threat, in all but a court case. "You do recall how that play ended, don't you Son?"

Lex half-turned, not daring to turn his back on his father, and kept the Lionel in his peripheral vision as he moved to the bookcase. He grabbed his copy of _Romeo and Juliet_, feigning the need to refresh his memory, and opened the book. "Yeah, Dad, but maybe the ending wasn't the point. Maybe the journey is what counts."

Lionel was disgusted. _As usual,_ Lex thought. Then Lionel said, "You always were weak. I hoped I could break you of that. This world, Lex, will eat you alive if you show them the mercy you always do. I won't always be here to protect you."

_Protect me my ass. I'd bet my life you were in on it with Helen when she tried to kill me. You at least planned for me to be stranded on that island a while, you bastard._ "I'd say that I'd hate to see your idea of doing the opposite, but I've already seen it. Too bad the court system is so easy to buy off."

Lionel's expression turned predatory as he glided over to his son. He placed a hand on Lex's shoulder, and whispered so close to the younger man's ear that his lips brushed his son'sear with each new syllable, "Kent is mine, Lex."

_Shit!_ Lex pivoted quickly, but his father's back was already to him and he was out in the hall. Two of Lionel's own security gaurds joined him the instant he was out of the study, and Lex knew there was no chance he could speak to the man anymore. He'd been dismissed.

_He knows. He _knows._ I have to call Clark._

* * *

**Wayne Manor**

It wasn't every day that someone this... interesting was in danger. Bruce knew _all_ about it. Kent was only a couple years younger than himself, and was quite extraordinary, for lack of a better word. It seemed Lionel Luthor was also interested in Clark Kent, and Bruce knew first-hand that that was always dangerous.

A small smile came over his lips, and he didn't give the slightest pause as he said, "Pack up, Alfred. We're going to Smallville."

* * *

:blinks: Hey, I wasn't planning on involving Batman in this whole charade. 

Cyri: Yeah, but Gav was grumbling that you always take light-loving characters and make them understand darkness. He wanted one in the fic that _already_ liked the dark.

Gavin: Besides, it'll help the plot along, and help _you_ with your writer's block.


	8. Praeda

Sorry about the long wait. Seems I can't really update often, but I will do my solemn best, dear readers.

CONTEST: The first person to tell me what the title of this chapter means gets to have their OC do a little cameo in a future chapter.

DISCLAIMER: Oh, you _know_ I don't own it... I'm just borrowing without asking ;)

**Chapter Eight: Praeda**

Lex's cell phone rang as he sped toward the Kent farm in a car that was sufficiently fast for the highspeed race Clark's life was turning into, and the car also got good gas mileage-- a major plus. The less they had to stop, the better. After checking the caller id, he answered, "Hi Bruce, can I get back to you later? I'm kind of in a rush right now."

He could hear the smirk in the other man's voice. "I know. You're going to rescue that Kent kid."

Inwardly, Lex cursed himself again. _From now on I am having wherever I live swept for bugs at _least_ twice a week._ Outwardly, he demanded coldly, "What do you want with him?"

Bruce became serious. "To help you. _Both_ of you."

Wary, Lex replied, "How?"

"I'll ask Batman if he can help."

Lex smiled. He should have figured Bruce had his study bugged... and that he would want to get in on saving the extraordinary alien. After all, Clark would make a hell of an ally. "Alright. But be discreet about it. We don't want anyone else to know, if it can be helped."

"The FBI already knows," the other business tycoon said, worry changing his tone. Lex cursed. "Yeah." There was silence on both ends of the line. "I'll talk to the Bat."

And he hung up.

* * *

**Kent Farm**

Clark was working on his homework in the living room when Martha let Lex into the cozy little yellow house. Before Martha could tell her son Lex was there, the young businessman said, "There's trouble, Clark."

Clark recognized the voice instantly, but the tone not at all. His friend's voice was an odd combination of cold monotone and shaky fear that he had never heard before. His head snapped up, and his eyes confirmed that Lex was shaken. "What's wrong?"

The older man ran a hand over his bald head and glanced at Martha. "It would probably be best if Mr. Kent were here too."

Though she had no idea what was going on, Lex's unfamiliar demeanor was scaring her-- he was worried and that was enough for her. Without a word she took off for the field to get Jonathan. When she returned, the young billionaire ran a hand over his head again, nervous as all hell, and said in that same shaky monotone, "Clark and I had a conversation. He told me everything." Lex let that sink in.

Martha gasped when she realized what he meant and Jonathan's eyes took on a dangerous gleam. He stalked forward menacingly, growling, "If you intend to hurt my son--"

He was stopped in his tracks as the young man said, "I'm trying to protect him."

Still suspicious, Jonathan demanded, "How?"

There went the nervous gesture again, and, "My father knows. So does the FBI. Apparently my home is bugged." A moment of unsteady silence, waiting to go off like a bomb. Teetering on the edge of peace and war, he continued, "But I want to help. I want to get Clark out of here, and I have a friend who can help."

As suspicious as ever, more so since Lex's confession of knowing, Jonathan opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Martha. Maternal worry clouded her eyes with tears as she asked, "Who?"

"Batman."

He held his breath. Their decision could make the difference between a semi-happy, semi-normal life for Clark and a dark life of pain and suffering as a lab rat.

"_Hell no._" Jonathan snapped. "I appreciate the offer," he lied, "but I'll protect my son myself."

"What if you can't, Dad? This is the FBI _and_ Lionel Luthor we're talking about," Clark said, standing up. "What if neither of you can? Maybe _this_ is why I was sent to Earth, instead of somewhere else."

"To be a lab rat? I hope to God not, Clark, because that would be pretty barbaric for such an advanced race," Lex argued.

"Honey, don't you think you could help more people the way you _are_, rather than letting your healing properties become another drug store free-for-all?" Martha jumped into the debate.

"Your mother's right, Son, and I _won't_ see you give yourself away like that. You have the same rights as any other human being."

Clark looked him in the eyes, self-loathing bubbling just past the surface of the soul revealed in his eyes. "But Dad. I'm _not_ human."

TBC...


End file.
